Thursday, 26 June 2014

First off, I want to give a shout out to all my wonderful
family and friends for their lovely birthday wishes last weekend. I was so
fortunate to have my entire family be in Toronto with me, where we shared many
laughs, love and way too much good food (if you've never had brunch at Le Select Bistro on Wellington, run there now!) To top it all off, we had the most perfect weather on
Saturday. The only downside to my birthday? Realizing I am now 25 and halfway
to 50!

To celebrate this milestone, I thought I would try something new on my blog and provide my personal reviews on two new cookbooks, Oh She Glows by Angela Liddon and Slimming Meals that Health by Julie Daniluk. DISCLAIMER:
I was not sent a free copy or asked to provide these reviews, and this post is
based solely on my own opinion.

Let’s start with Oh She Glows.

I attended one of my best friend’s birthday parties at the
beginning of June and was extremely jealous when I saw her unwrap a copy of
Canadian Food Blogger Angela Liddon’s new vegan cookbook, Oh She Glows. Being
the frugal student I am, I began taking pictures of some of the recipes using
my iPhone. Luckily, my amazing friends took note of this and bought me my own
copy for my birthday last weekend!

Don’t let the vegan word fool you into thinking this is some
weird hippie, tasteless cookbook full of strange ingredients you will have to
search every health food store in Toronto to find all the ingredients. Instead,
the recipes are simply, easy to follow and chockfull of healthy ingredients.
Plus you can always sub the vegan substitutions for non-vegan substitutions
(i.e. real eggs for flax eggs) if you don’t have all the ingredients on hand.

The thing I like the most about this cookbook is the layout.
The pictures are beautiful, the text easy to read and she takes you on a
journey through her kitchen from start to finish. I’ve already made several of
her dessert recipes, granola bars and vinaigrettes, and everything was easy to
prepare, cook, and turned out exactly like the photos, something that doesn’t
always happen! N.B. this book is not 100% gluten-free, but Angela offers lots
of gluten-free substitutions, and I have already used organic unsweetened,
sunflower seed butter in place of almond butter in several of her recipes as I
manage a fantastic kid’s bike camp called Pedalheads during the summer and we
have a strict nut-free policy. I definitely recommend picking up a copy in
store or online as this will be a great go-to cookbook for years to come. Next
up, I plan to buy some green lentils and make some of her lentil-walnut
meatloaf and taco meat for some delicious Meatless Monday meals! Below is a picture of her beat the heat dessert pizza, I made this for Father's day and it was a big hit.

Slimming Meals that Heal

I had the opportunity to meet holistic nutritionist Julie
Daniluk earlier this year at a food show. She is truly an amazing woman,
extremely successful and passionate about sharing her knowledge of food and
healing with those around her. I bought her new cookbook, Slimming Meals that
Heal online after reading several outstanding reviews on amazon. This cookbook
is touted for those looking to lose weight, but I was personally interested in
adopting an anti-inflammatory diet to help heal my gut and continue on my
journey towards better health. The thing I like most aobut this book is the
amount of sound, scientific nutritional advice and information she provides in
the first half. This is really more of a textbook on how to heal inflammation, with
recipes that support this process and aid in weightloss along the way. I’ve
made several of her salads dressing, which all turned out delicious and were easy to
make in my mini food processor. I plan of making more of her recipes in the Fall, as many focus on nourishing
soups and stews that look delicious, but don’t currently sound appetizing as
it’s supposed to be 38 degrees with the humidity next week! If you’re
looking to eat better, reduce inflammation or lose weight, this is a great
resource to have on hand. If you’re more interested in cooking great food, I
would recommend Angela’s cookbook as it focuses more on the recipes than the
science. OR if you’re like me, buy both and enjoy the benefits of both worlds.

If you have any more questions about either cookbooks or the
recipes I’ve tried, send me a PM and I’d be happy to assist.

Sunday, 1 June 2014

After a recent study by Dr. Peter Gibson at Monash
University in Australia was published claiming that non-celiac gluten
sensitivity doesn’t exist, I received several requests from friends to comment
on the findings and the validity of the study. I am by no means trying to
de-bunk the study with this post, and only wish to better educate people about
this health issue and what the results mean.

I will begin with a disclosure that I am someone who
suffers from non-celiac gluten sensitivity. All gluten containing grains were
extremely high on my IGG testing, and any ingestion of gluten causes severe
stomach pain and bloating after eating, headaches, brain fog, and inevitable
trips to the bathroom the next morning. Since I tested negative for celiac, trace amounts (a
bit of soy sauce, a small bite etc.) don't bother me, but a full sandwich or
slice of pizza means I’m out of commission for several days. It was my
naturopathic doctor who recommended removing several commons allergens, including gluten, and food additives from my diet, allowing me to finally regain control of my life.

Hence, you can see my frustration, anger and
embarrassment when people assume I am gluten-free because ‘I’m on a diet’, or
‘I’m a picky eater’, or ‘I’m high maintenance’ or 'I’m only gluten-free because
my best friend is'.
These are all lines people have said to my face in the past, and the
strange looks and judgmental stares when I asked for a gluten-free menu can
make ordering out or dinner parties excruciating to sit though. Nonetheless, there are many people who are gluten-free for no real
reason, and don’t even know that gluten is! Check out the Jimmy Kimmel Video
for a good laugh http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/06/gluten-free-people-have-no-idea-what-gluten-is_n_5273980.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false.

If you want more information on what gluten is,
the Wikipedia page, like any good researcher, is a good place to start.

Let’s breakdown the findings of this study using this article
posted on the Huffington Post

37
subjects, a relatively small sample, with self-declared gluten sensitivity and
irritable bowel syndrome were placed on different diets including a
high-gluten, low-gluten and control diet, consisting of 16 grams of whey
protein isolate per day.

No matter which diet
they ate, all reported feeling worse, even when consuming the gluten-free
diet. BUT I personally don’t like how they used whey protein isolate as a
control. Cow’s dairy is highly inflammatory and even isolate (which contains
very little lactose) can cause bloating and stomach pain in people who are
sensitive. The scientists
explained these results by a “nocebo” effect, “where people basically convince
themselves that they feel worse and thus, they begin to experience real
symptoms, but it’s all in their heads.” I slightly agree with researcher
because if I’m eating out and skeptical of whether or not the server got my
order right (i.e. the pizza crust or bun is in fact gluten-free), I do feel
somewhat nauseous in anticipation of the pain and GI upset to come.

Thus, the researchers concluded that FODMAPS (Fermentable
Oligo-Di-Monosaccharides and Polyols) are a far more
likely cause of the gastrointestinal problems attributed to gluten intolerance.
When participated consumed a low-FODMAP diet, almost all reported that their symptoms
improved!

However,
it should be noted that major dietary sources of FODMAPs include glutinous
grains such as rye and wheat. Other potential triggers that are part of the
FODMAPS family include HFCS, lactose, and certain fruits and veggies. In case you’re
wondering, I do try to avoid large portions of foods high in FODMAPS as they
are a trigger for my IBS.

So what does this all mean? I will admit that
gluten-free is extremely trendy these days and a great marketing tool, and I’m
sure there are a good percentage of people on a gluten-free diet who don’t need
to be and only feel better because they’re eating more whole, fresh
food. On the other hand, I do greatly enjoy this current trend because it makes
grocery shopping and dining out a much easier and less stressful experience for
celiacs and those who are gluten intolerant alike and need to avoid gluten for
medical reasons.

If you think going gluten-free will lead to weight
loss, think again. Maybe in the past because going gluten-free meant cutting
out cake, cookies, breads, pasta, pizza and other starchy, high calorie items
from your diet. These days, there is gluten-free everything, including donuts,
but this does not make them healthy or calorie free. In fact many gluten-free
breads are FAR WORSE nutritionally, contain much more sugar, and are WAY MORE expensive than their
gluten containing counterparts.

If going gluten-free makes you feel better
mentally and physically, then I don’t think it’s truly all in your head. I do
not recommend buying store bought gluten-free breads, pastas or cookies
however, because they are often highly processed and full of white rice, potato
starch and white sugar, which will cause a huge spike in blood sugar and a
crash later on leaving you hungry and irritable. Instead try substituting with
healthier ingredients; think zucchini or carrot noodles, cauliflower pizza crusts, Swiss
chard wraps, and almond or coconut flour for homemade bread and desserts. If
you have more questions about going gluten-free or think you may have other
food sensitivities feel free to send me a private message or better yet, book
an appointment with an accredited naturopathic doctor who can help you create an optimal diet for your gut.

About Me

A current student at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, I aspire to share my passion for fitness, health, nutrition and life with all my patients when I graduate and become a licensed Naturopathic Doctor.